In the case ofmobile phones,change is everything. Recent research indicates that the mobilephone is changing not only our culture,but our very bodies as well.
First,Let's talkabout culture.The difference between the mobile phone and its parent一the fixed-line phone,is that a mobilephone corresponds to a person,while a landline
goes to a place.Ifyou call my mobile,you get me.If you call my fixed-line phone,you get whoeveranswers it.
This has severalimplications.The most common one,however,and perhaps the thing that has changedour culture forever,is the"meeting"influence.People no longer need to
make firm plansabout when and where to meet.Twenty years ago,a Friday night would need to bearranged in advance.You needed enough time to allow everyone to get
from their place ofwork to the first meeting place.Now,however,a night out can be arranged on therun.It is no longer"see you there at 8", but"text me around 8and we'll see
where we allare".
Texting changespeople as well.In their paper,"Insights into the Social and PsychologicalEffects of SMS Text Messaging",two British researchers distinguishedbetween two
types of mobilephone users:the"talkers"and the"texters”一those who prefer voice to textmessage and those who prefer text message to voice.
They found that themobile phone's individuality and privacy gave texters the ability to express awhole new outer personality.Texters were likely to report that their family
would be surprisedif they were to read their texts.This suggests that texting allowed texters topresent a self-image that differed from the one familiar to those who knew
them well.
Another scientistwrote of the changes that mobiles have brought to body language.There are twokinds that people use while speaking on the phone.There is
the"speakeasy":thehead is held high,in a self-confident way,chatting away.And there isthe"spacemaker":these people focus on themselves and keep out otherpeople.
Who can blamethem?Phone meetings get cancelled or reformed and camera-phones intrude onpeople's privacy. So,it is understandable if your mobile makes you
nervous.But perhapsyou needn't worry so much.After all,it is good to talk.
A.Right
B.Wrong
C.Not mentioned